Dutch Architecture 5 Euro Coin

Dutch artist Stani Michiels has designed a commemorative 5 Euro coin honoring the history of Dutch architecture:

On the front, Dutch Queen Beatrix is constructed with names of important Dutch architects while the back has a ring of Dutch architecture books that create the outline of the Netherlands in negative space. The birds flying between the books are arranged to mark each of the provincial capitals of the Netherlands. The artist used an internet search to determine the popularity of each architect whose name is used on the portrait of Queen Beatrix; the names are ordered from most to least popular as the spiral tightens (congratulations Rem, good effort Rietveld). Check out the artists blog for some insight into the design process…